Music Q&A:
The Fernweh

What informs your music and songwriting?
Bits and bobs, odds and sods. A big old scrapbook of songs, films, landscapes and stories that we keep adding cuttings to. The way people talk and use language. Snatched fragments of dialogue on a bus. You have to be a bit like the Stasi! You have to listen!

How have you evolved as a band over the years?
I think we’ve become less precious about certain aspects of music making: who plays what? Did I nail that solo? Am I out of tune there? We’re more concerned with the overall picture now: how does the whole song or album feel? Does it move you? Usually if it feels right, then it is right.

What are you up to at the moment artistically?
Our second single Is This Man Bothering You? is coming out on 30 March on Skeleton Key Records. Signing to Skeleton Key was really special for us. First, because The Coral, who run the label, are an incredible and really important band, so it means a lot that they are endorsing our work. And second, because the record was conceived and recorded in Liverpool and is heavily inspired by the North West, we’re delighted it’s coming out on a Liverpool/Wirral label: it’s a true spiritual home. The album is recorded mixed and ready to leap out of the starting blocks when Skeleton Key fires the starter pistol in July this year! We can’t wait.

What’s on your rider?
Pampers!

How do you stand out from the crowd in a saturated industry?
We’re delivering 21st century psych-folk rock and roll that the kids can get down to and your grandmother can whistle along to.

Tell us about your worst live show.
Honestly, we’ve only done a handful and they’ve all been great. There have been some testing times in the recording process after two litres of coffee each and a middle eight that just won’t sit right!